A car battery is the life force of your car. Without it, your car wouldn’t be able to function effectively or at all. Car batteries aren’t built to last forever, but there are things you can do to make them last longer. In this post, I’ll share a few tips that you can use to help preserve the life of your battery.

Perform Regular Checks On Your Battery

First of all, you must regularly check for corrosion. A lot of damage can be done if you don’t check the wires and terminals for corrosion. This is something we see quite often on vehicles during a service. To get rid of the corrosion from the battery you can use baking soda and water. You simply throw the baking soda on the terminals and use water to wash it off. Another method you can use is to pour boiling hot water onto the area with the acid build up. The easiest way to do this is by boiling a kettle of water and pouring it on the affected areas when ready.

Secure Your Battery

It’s important to ensure that your car battery is not moving around under the bonnet. If it is insecure, it may become damaged while driving, or cause damage to other components. If you take the time to ensure everything is secure, you can avoid extra costs in the long run.

Also, check your battery for any cracks or signs of damage. If there are any cracks on it, then you may have to invest in a new one. You don’t want to take the risk of driving around with a damaged battery. This is a good way to get stranded with a car that won’t start.

Check The Battery Fluid 

Checking the fluid is very important and it’s something you should do regularly. This fluid is acidic and is what helps to generate electricity. If the fluid is low, you’ll need to top it up. It is very important that you use filtered water to do this, as this new water will become acidic too. If you use ordinary tap water, the chemicals will cause damage to the batteries cells. Most car batteries come with a mark under the cap that tells you where the fluid should be filled too.

Having your battery checked and tested regularly every 3-6 months is good practice. At Monypenny Mechanical we check your car’s battery as part of our car servicing in our Cairns workshop. We will check the overall condition and its fluid levels. It is quite common to top up the fluid and clean any acid build-up during our car services. By regularly checking your car’s battery, you can help to increase it’s lifespan and save you money.

Warranty and Replacement

Your battery will generally also have letters and numbers stamped on the terminals. This tells you when it was sold for warranty purposes. If it is playing up we can help you identify whether or not it’s still under warranty. With some luck, it’ll be covered by warranty and we can help you get a replacement. Alternatively, we stock a wide range of high-quality affordable car batteries in Cairns to replace your old one if it’s out of warranty.

Always consider your budget and look for high quality. You might have to pay a bit more to get a good one, but you get your money back in the long run.

It always pays to keep your car battery in good condition and avoid breaking down. Take care of your battery and it will take care of you.